Garment hanger



June 13, 1944. N. LANGER GARMENT HANGER Filed Sept. 29, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l /N VE N TOR fig W June 13, 1944. LANGER 2,351,523

GARMENT HANGER Filed'Sept. 29, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOIR Patented June 13, 1944 UNITED surge eATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to garment hangers and, more particularly, to a garment hanger of novel and improved character.

Heretofore, garment hangers were generally constructed of wood or of metal. Wooden garment hangers were relatively expensive and as a result they could not be economically employed by tailors or cleaning establishments for delivering garments to the customer. Conventional metal wire hangers, while available at a relatively low cost, were objectionable for various reasons. Thus, wire hangers had the garments suspended from relatively sharp surfaces which would cause sharp creases on the supported portions of the garments, particularly when the garments were heavy or when they were left for some time on the hanger. Also, unless the wire was very thoroughly lacquered or painted, there was always danger of rust spots being produced on the portions of the garment in contact with the hanger and tailors would preclude this danger by pinning paper around the operating portions of the wire hanger with attendant loss of time. It has been also suggested to provide garment hangers made of heavy cardboard by means of folding and die-cutting operations. It was found, however, that the cost of the complicated dies of large dimensions was quite high and in addition die-cut cardboard garment hangers were extremely wasteful of paper material or board and were not sufficiently strong to support heavy garments such as overcoats. heavy winter suits, and the like. Further attempts to provide a satisfactory and inexpensive garment hanger or tube and an associated suspension cord in combination with metallic fastening elements. These structures likewise failed to solve the outstanding problem in that they were relatively expensive to manufacture and rather difiicult to use under the conditions now practiced in the tailoring and garment cleaning trade. Although many other suggestions and proposals were made to solve the outstanding problem and to provide the art with a completely satisfactory garment hanger of inexpensive character, none, as far as I am aware, of these suggestions and proposals was completely satisfactory and successful when carried into practice on a practical and commercial scale.

I have discovered that the outstanding problem may be solved in a remarkably simple manner.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel garment hanger which completely involved structures comprising a horizontal bar GARMENT HANGER Nicholas Langer, New York, N. Y.

Application September 29, 1942, Serial No. 460,174

eliminates the disadvantages or inconveniences encountered in the manufacture and use of con-. ventional garment hangers.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger of novel and improved character which does not require any metallic materials for its manufacture and which in its preferred form may be exclusively constituted of cellulosic materials.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger which may be produced from strong cardboard or corrugated board without any expensive die-cutting operations and in such a manner that all of the sheetlike raw material may be fully utilized without any loss or waste.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel garment hanger which combines great mechanical strength with excellent garment-supporting properties so that even extremely heavy garments may be suspended therefrom without the danger of collapse or that of deforming, creasing or otherwise detrimentally affecting the garments in any way.

It is also within the contemplation of the invention to provide a novel fastening device for the garment hanger which makes it possible to suspend the garment hanger from a hook or from a conventional horizontal garment hanger pole generally found in closets, tailors shops,

etc... without requiring a rigid hook-shaped member constituted of metal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a garment hanger structure which may be shipped and stored in a completely flat condition whereby a large number of such hangers may be shipped and stored in a small space and may be erected into operative position at a, moments notice.

The invention also contemplates a novel garment hanger which is extremely simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and which may be readily manufactured and sold on a practical and commercial scale at a low cost.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a garment hanger embodying the principles of the present invention in its operative condition;

Fig. 2 depicts a similar view of a preferred embodiment of the invention ready for use;

Fig. 3 shows a bottom plan view of the garment hanger illustrated in Fig. 2 in its flattened condition in which it is shipped and stored; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified embodiment of the present invention.

The invention will be best understood by reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, illustrated in the drawings. Referring now more particularly to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, reference character 10 denotes a transverse garment supporting member preferably constituted of a piece or sheet of strong cardboard or corrugated board folded upon itself along a transverse medial line H to form a channel-shaped structure of reversed V-shaped configuration. speaking, a structure of this type is quite strong and rigid and is capable of supporting a substantial weight without flexing. A cord or string l2 has its two ends attached to the terminal portions of the transverse member preferably in the region of medial line I I. While various fastening means such as staples, gummed tape, stitching, etc., may be employed, in order to provide a simple, inexpensive and mechanically strong fastenin without using metallic members, I prefer to pass the ends of the cord through two small openings l3 and I4 provided in the transverse member and to make a knot l5 at each end of the cord which will prevent the cord being pulled through such openings. To further reinforce the point of attachment of the cord and to prevent tearing or breaking the cardboard body by the knots particularly when the structure is supporting heavy garments, it is advantageous to interpose heavy cardboard washers l6 and I1 between the knotted ends of the cord and the corresponding portions of the transverse member. The cord may be constituted of any suitable material having suflicient strength and flexibility. A cord made of cellulosic material and sold in the trade under the name paper twine was found to be satisfactory.

The portion of cord l2 between the ends thereof has a knot l8 tied thereon to which there is attached in any convenient manner a strong cardboard disc or button l9. Knot l8 defines a top loop 20 the object of which will appear presently and also a pair of upwardly converging garmentsupporting lines 2! and 22 forming a triangular configuration arched over the transverse supporting member 10. Button or disc l9 may be attached to the cord in various ways. Thus, I found it convenient to provide a button in the form of a cardboard disc with a. single hole therein having such diameter as to prevent the knot l8 to slip therethrough. Preferably, the knot I8 is provided in cord 12 before the ends of the cord are attached to the. supporting member 10. Hereafter, both the uppermost end of loop 20. and also the two free ends of the cord beyond. the knot are passed through the opening or hole in the button whereby the knot which is larger than the opening in the button will prevent the button from falling off. Of course, various other fastening means may be employed such as staples. or four smaller holes may be provided in the button, the ends of the cord being first passed through two of such holes and subsequently through the other two holes and then attached to the horizontal supporting member H] as shown in Fig. 2.

From the foregoing description, the operation of my novel garment hanger will be readily understood by those skilled in the art (Fig. 1); The upper or folding edge of the transverse member If! may be employed for holding the trousers of a suit in the conventional manner by passing the fiat-folded legs of the trousers over such folding edge and having the trousers depending at both Generally sides of such member. It will be noted that in this condition the trousers are safely supported and due to the fact that the folding edge may have a relatively large radius, no creases or permanent folds will be caused even though the trousers may be retained in this position for weeks or for months. Hereafter, the coat and/or vest of the garment may be placed or draped around the upwardly converging arched portions of cord I2. Due to the inverted V-shaped folded construction of the horizontal supporting member, its two converging panels will be resiliently hinged in medial or fold line ll so that they will tend to support the shoulder and sleeve portions of the coat in a position closely approximating that assumed by the garment, when worn. In addition to this, the upwardly arched converging portions 2| and 22 of cord l2 will be flexed inwardly by the weight of the coat as this is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1 and will likewise hold the neck and collar portion of the coat in its natural position. In other words, the novel coat hanger of the invention will support the garment in a position which is ideal for the indefinite preservation of its shape.

Loop 20 serves for suspending the hanger with the garment thereon. In case there is a conventional hook available, loop 20 may be simply hung thereon. In the more frequent case when it is desired to suspend the hanger from a conventional horizontal post 23 frequently provided in closets or in tailors shops, loop 20 is folded doubled around the pole and its looped end portion is buttoned underneath buton l9, as this is clearly shown in Fig. 1. In this condition the hanger is safely supported suspended from the pole without the danger of slipping or falling off and may be readily removed at a moments notice by unbuttoning the end of the loop 20 from button l9. 7

For the purpose of shipment or storage, the transverse supporting member may be completely flattened, as shown inFig. 3 so that it requires very little space. The shipping space may be practically completely filled out by a plurality of superposed garment hangers. This is a great advantage also when traveling and it is desired to take a few garment hangers along in a suitcase or trunk.

In Fig. 4 a modified embodiment is illustrated in a somewhat fragmentary manner. In this embodiment the lateral edges 24 of transverse supporting member ID are curved in order to better conform to the inner surface of the garment in the region of suspension. Of course, this embodiment requires a die-cutting operation in its manufacture and also'wastes some of the paper material although these'disadvantages may be compensated for in, some cases by the increased ability of the hanger'to conform to the garment.

It has been noted that the garment hanger of the invention provides a number of important advantages. One of these advantages is that it is constituted of very inexpensive materials and that it does not require any metals for its manufacture. There are no expensive dies or cutting operations necessary, and the cardboardor corrugated paper stock can be readily converted into garment hangers simply by means of cutting operations without wasting any paper material whatsoever. The garments are supported in their natural position and undesired or detrimental creases or folds-are completely avoided. The materials in contact with the garments are completely inert and cannot produce stains or spots thereon. The outer surface of the transverse supporting member may be provided with an attractive paper finish and also with printed or stamped advertising matter at slight or no extra cost. Moreover, the garment hangers of the invention may be shipped in knock-clown condition whereby great economy in shipping and storage space is obtained. Thus, a completely satisfactory and extremely attractive garment hanger is provided which may be readily manufactured and sold at a price which is competitive with that of the cheapest wire hangers.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in connection with a few preferred embodiments thereof, variations and modifications may be resorted to by those skilled in the art w thout departing from the principles of the present invention. I consider all of these variations and modifications to be within the true spirit and scope of the present invention, as disclosed in the foregoing description, and defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

I. A garment hanger comprising in combination a transverse member constituted of a substantially oblong sheet folded along a medial line, a cord attached to the end portions of said sheet substantially in said medial line, and forming upwardly converging garment-supporting lines, a suspension loop integrally formed from said cord at the region where said lines meet, and a relatively rigid locking element attached to said region adapted to be buttoned into said 100p when said loop is bent around a supporting pole thereby to secure said garment hanger in suspended relation to said pole.

2. A garment hanger comprising in combination a transverse member constituted of a sheet of cardboard folded along its transverse medial line to form a structure including a pair of resiliently hinged panels, a cord having its ends attached to the ends of said member substantially in said medial line, a knot in a doubledup intermediate portion of said cord defining an upwardly extending suspension loop and a pair of downwardly divergent flexible garment-supporting lines extending to said transverse member, and a button member attached to said cord in the region of said knot adapted to be buttoned into said loop when said loop is bent around a garment hanger-supporting pole.

3. A garment hanger erectable from flattened form comprising in combination a transverse member constituted of an oblong sheet of relatively rigid cellulosic board scored along a transverse medial line to define a pair of hingedly connected panels, an elongated flexible element substantially longer than said transverse member having its ends secured to terminal regions of said member in said medial line, and suspension means connected to the center portion of said flexible element, said hanger being adapted to be erected by folding the panels of the transverse member about said medial score line into an inverted V-shaped configuration and the intermediate portions of said flexible element being adapted to form upwardly arched lines conforable to the outlines of a suspended garment.

4. A garment hanger erectable from flattened form comprising in combination a transverse member constituted of an oblong sheet of relatively rigid cellulosic board scored along a trans- Verse medial line to define a pair of hingedly connected panels, a cord having its ends secured to the end portions of said member substantially in said medial line, and a suspension loop connected to the center portion of said cord, said hanger being adapted to be erected by folding the panels of the transverse member about said medial score line into an inverted V-shaped configuration and the intermediate portions of said cord being adapted to form upwardly arched lines conformable to the outlines of a suspended garment.

5. A garment hanger adapted to be erected from flattened form comprising in combination a transverse member constituted of a sheet of relatively rigid cardboard foldable along a medial score line to form a pair of resiliently hinged panels having an inverted V-shaped cross section, a cord having its ends attached to the ends of said member substantially in said medial line, and a knot in an intermediate portion of said element defining a pair of upwardly converging flexible garment-supporting lines below said knot and a suspension loop above the said knot.

6. A garment hanger adapted to be erected from flattened form comprising in combination a transverse member constituted of a sheet of cardboard foldable along a transverse medial score line to form a structure including a pair of hinged angularly expandable panels and having an inverted V-shaped cross section, a cord having its ends attached to the terminal re gions of said member, and means in an intermediate portion of said cord to separate the same into an upper suspension loop and into a pair of downwardly diverging conformable garmentsupporting lines, said panels of the transverse member being formed with a completely smooth outer surface for the reception of printed advertizing matter, and the like.

7. A garment hanger comprising in combination a transverse member constituted of a sheet of card-board folded along its transverse medial line to form a pair of hinged angularly expandable plane panels having an inverted V-shaped cross section, an opening at each end of said medial line, a suspension cord having its ends passed through said openings respectively and having retaining knots on such ends, and a knot in an intermediate portion of said cord to separate the same into an upper suspension loop and into a pair of downwardly diverging conformable garment-supporting lines, said transverse member being adapted to be flattened into a single plane for the purpose of storage and shipment.

8. A garment hanger comprising in combination a transverse member constituted of a sheet of cellulosic board folded along its transverse medial line to form a structure including a pair of resiliently hinged plane panels and having an inverted V-shaped cross section, a cord having its ends attached to the ends of said member substantially in said medial line, and suspension means at the center portion of said cord, the lateral terminal edges of said transverse member being formed with outwardly curved configuration to conform to the shape of corresponding portions of a supported garment, said transverse member being adapted to be flattened into a single plane for the purpose of storage and shipment.

NICHOLAS LANGER. 

